Late August brings with it the rewards of a whole summer’s worth of work in the garden. The greatest of those rewards for me being squash blossoms. While squash blossoms great fresh and tossed in a salad or in a pasta dish, I wanted to make the blossoms the star in this recipe. By stuffing them with a ricotta and herb mixture and then lightly batter frying, these blossoms become a fresh and satisfying appetizer or light entree.

Squash blossoms are very delicate and have to be handled with care when stuffing with the ricotta. Slice the blossom open vertically, from the base to the top of the flower. It’s better to slightly under fill the blossoms so that you have enough room to fold over and close the incision. I would also suggest letting the blossoms set up in the fridge for 20 to 30 mins after filling before battering and frying so that the filling does not run out once they hit the oil.

While you could deep fry the blossoms in a more neutral flavored oil like vegetable, shallow frying in a pan with olive oil works great here. Leaving a small bit of stem at the base of the blossom allows you to dip them in the batter and gently lower into the oil. Fry the blossoms for one to two minutes on each side until a light golden brown then flip before allowing them to drain on paper towels.

Ingredients:

8 cherry tomatoes; halved

basil leaves for garnish

½ cup olive oil

Squash Blossoms-

8 squash blossoms

1 cup whole milk ricotta

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp fresh oregano; chopped

2 tbsp fresh basil; chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Batter-

¾ cup seltzer

¼ cup yellow cornmeal

¼ cup all purpose flour

salt & pepper to taste

Corn Pudding-

1½ cup yellow sweet corn

2 tbsp unsalted butter

¾ cup light cream

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1-2 tbsp yellow cornmeal

salt & pepper to taste

Basil Pesto-

1 cup basil leaves

1 clove garlic

¼ cup walnuts

¼ cup parmigiano reggiano

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

⅓ cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Method:

In a mixing bowl combine the ricotta, egg yolk, chopped oregano, chopped basil, salt, and pepper. Cut open the squash blossoms and gently fill the flowers with the ricotta mixture, then set aside in the fridge to set.

Add the butter and corn to a small pot and lightly saute. When the corn has begun to cook, add in the cream, sugar, salt and pepper and cook down until the cream has reduced by roughly half. Add the corn mix into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add the corn mix back to the pot and return to heat, adding in the cornmeal. Stir the corn pudding, adding in more cream or cornmeal in necessary until you achieve a thick, smooth texture. Set aside.

Add the basil, walnuts, lemon juice, cheese, garlic to a food processor. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper then set aside.

In a bowl combine the seltzer, flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper with a whisk until well mixed. Add the olive oil to a saute pan and place over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, dip the blossoms one by one in the batter and then add to the pan. Work in small batches, frying the blossoms for 1-2 minutes on each side.